Chapter 477

"Speaking of which..."

As he bent down, Shirou touched the heavy "thing" in his arms.

He took out "that" that had initially angered the goddess.

The unassuming little cloth bag was filled with seeds of Azaka that grew all over Mesopotamia.

"... good."

Shirou held the flower seed in his hand, making an important decision in his heart.

That happened after my consciousness plunged into the abyss.

The boy vaguely heard distant sounds and seemed to see a hazy landscape.

"Where..."

"Where am I...?"

The souls wandering in the world of the dead let out mournful sobs.

"It's so dark..."

"It's so dark here..."

"It's so cold..."

"It's so cold..."

There's nothing...

Shirou felt a deep sense of helplessness as the cries for help grew weaker and weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind.

If I had to explain why...

Because he is the soul that is pleading.

To be precise, Shirou's consciousness flowed into the soul of a human who had died.

I think it's called possession?

It's like the situation between Jeanne d'Arc and Laeticia.

Shirou drifts along with the souls of unknown humans, awaiting the arrival of an unknown end.

"Ah, found it, found it."

A girl's voice rang in my ears.

Ah... that sound is as warm as sunlight shining into the darkest depths, Shirou thought.

"Are you alright? Can you cheer up?"

A blonde girl in a long red robe appeared in the dark world, illuminating everything.

Shirou couldn't see her face clearly under her hood, but he felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and warmth, and couldn't take his eyes off her.

The blonde girl knelt down before the spirit Shirou possessed and murmured something.

"Occasionally, this does happen; the soul doesn't fall into the square, but into the wilderness."

Luckily, I patrolled the area just in case... Thanks to that, I was able to find a lost soul.

The girl carefully Shirou in her hands and smiled.

"Heh, accept your fate? Since you've fallen into this Underworld, you're my possession."

Now that I, the great mistress of the Underworld, Ereshkigal, have arrived, you have no freedom... Ugh, oh dear, you're almost gone!?"

The blonde girl screamed in despair.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

I went too far earlier; I just wanted to scare you a little! Don't give up so easily!

"Don't be so rough! Not everyone is like me and won't be intimidated by you!" Shirou couldn't help but retort.

"Phew, things have finally stabilized."

The color of its soul is also very stable... it looks like a human child.

Seeing that her soul had regained some vitality, the blonde girl wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"The cause of death was... strangulation?"

According to the records of the deceased... I see, he died from violence committed by a relative.

The blonde girl lowered her beautiful, long eyelashes.

"... Although I don't understand what you're talking about at all..."

But now that you're here, don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe.

A cage of guns appeared beside the girl, and she gently placed human souls into it.

Though I cannot heal your wounds, no matter how cold your soul—

As long as it remains within this gun-barreled enclosure, it will not disappear.

You can maintain your individuality until you are satisfied, and when you have no regrets, you can also return to the abyss.

If you've had painful experiences on the surface of the earth, you should at least enjoy peaceful days here.

The blonde girl closed the gun lock and revealed a resolute expression.

"I am Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Underworld, and the commander of the Gallu Spirit who bury the dead."

I swear by this name that you will have lasting peace.

Even though it's very cold here, I just hope your dream was meaningful.

"Ahhh..."

As his consciousness faded, Shirou heard the soul he was possessing say these words.

"It's a little... warmer now..."

When Shirou opened his eyes, he was greeted by the dark sky of the underground, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

After falling asleep last night, I seemed to dream about something...?

Shirou shook his head and got up from the makeshift bed.

He surveyed the surroundings—

After more than ten hours of hard work yesterday, my Underworld cabin has taken basic shape.

In that case, it wouldn't even take three days, and Shirou wouldn't have to sleep in the wilderness anymore.

Looking at the results before him, the young man felt a sense of pride.

"So, what's next..."

Continuing with the work from last night would also be fine.

However, considering the long road ahead, Shirou decided that he should balance work and rest and maintain proper mental health.

"Okay~ I'll go chat with the goddess today."

--

Volume 7: Chapter 310 Did the goddess's love affair come to a conclusion?

Is it fair to say he was the man Ishtar fell in love with at first sight?

What an incredible human being.

The above is Ereshkigal's first impression of Shirou Amamiya.

He showed no fear whatsoever when he saw Ereshkigal's terrifying Queen demeanor.

Not only did they not feel afraid, they even wanted to actively get closer to themselves.

Ereshkigal is the most intelligent and clever goddess in Mesopotamia (as she claims), so it's easy to assume that she's trying to please her in order to escape the Underworld.

But he doesn't seem to be like that.

Because, according to the reports brought back by the Gallu Spirit sent to scout, Shirou is meticulously constructing his residence—

It seems like they've already decided to settle down in the Underworld long-term... Are you kidding me?

Wait a minute, what's wrong with building your own residence next to the goddess's palace?! I didn't agree to that!

"So that's how it is. You were sent to this Underworld at the request of Father God Anu and the other gods, and then you got trapped here."

Honestly, if you want gods to manage the Underworld so badly, why don't you just go and do it yourselves?

After hearing about Ereshkigal's early life during a conversation, the red-haired boy expressed his blatant dissatisfaction.

This was the first time the goddess had experienced such strong emotions from someone else.

As she thought how arrogant and conceited these mere humans were, a sense of warmth welled up in her chest for some reason.

Every day, Shirou would come to the goddess's location, gazing at the endless wilderness of Gungate, and initiating conversation with her in a self-talking manner.

"I heard from the priestess of Uruk that all the gods in this world are beautiful women with blonde hair and red eyes. Does Your Majesty also have a second stage?"

As the red-haired boy spoke, he climbed onto Ereshkigal's massive skeletal body, touching everything as if searching for a switch.

"Idiot! What are you doing! Get off me!"

Ereshkigal, both ashamed and angry, threw Shirou off.

To be honest, she herself felt a little regretful.

She initially used the giant Gallu Spirit form to establish the goddess's majesty, but she also really wanted to show Shirou her true cuteness.

However, once the crucial opportunity is missed, it's difficult to speak up again.

If I were to rashly reveal that this demeanor is just a facade, Shirou might mistake me for a dishonest girl... The thought alone is irritating.

"My goddess, you should really pay more attention to your appearance, okay?"

I'm not scared at all, but several of the new human souls have probably been so frightened by your appearance that they've lost their spirits.

Since you are an omnipotent being in the Underworld, why not make yourself a little more lovable?

Today is the same--

Shirou appeared before the terrifying mistress of the Underworld as if it were his right, uttering extremely rude and offensive remarks.

This human seemed completely unaware of his own sharp tongue.

If Ereshkigal's true form weren't a beautiful girl, she'd probably be frozen solid by now.

Surprisingly, Ereshkigal didn't dislike talking to him at all.

Chatting with humans like this every day is a daily occurrence that even a goddess like her, living for tens of thousands of years, has never experienced.

Shirou will tell her about the current situation in the world above— Uruk.

Sometimes, he would talk to her about that era in his hometown—the world more than 3,000 years later.

Sometimes, Shirou would mention a world called "Fae Kingdom".

For Ereshkigal, those topics were so new.

Ereshkigal had been sealed underground for a very long time, often listened with rapt attention.

The mistress of the Underworld realized she was starting to look forward to Shirou's daily appearances after the first month and a half of forcibly keeping him by her side.

"I understand a little better now; that's why the goddess Ishtar was attracted to this man."

It's unbelievable that the goddess Ereshkigal would care about a mere living human being.

She had thought she would only be interested in the souls of the dead.

But now she can no longer deceive herself.

She was already deeply attracted to Shirou.